The Nebo Education Foundation board met this month to discuss the grants submitted by Nebo School District teachers and fund worthwhile projects in the district that provide resources to enrich student learning.

The Nebo Education Foundation is composed of 20 volunteer board members who live in cities serviced by Nebo School District. Board members meet each month to review and award grant requests, consider fund-raising avenues and other items that advance the educational opportunities for Nebo School District students. Many of the donations received are for selected projects, yet a substantial amount is available for the greatest need. Greatest need monies are considered for grants submitted by area schools.

Congratulations to the following teachers that continue to inspire the minds of students.

Mapleton Junior–Sherrie DunfordSherrie Dunford, guitar teacher at Mapleton Junior, said, “To have music stands that belong to the new guitar program at Mapleton Jr. High is such a great advantage for us. This program in its fledgling year last year drew four rather smallish classes of students who wished to learn the guitar. This year the classes are more than twice as large and are progressing nicely. Having our own stands means not having to drag stands from other music rooms or having two classes need them at the same time. It will save us time by being able to have stands set up in our classroom each day and being able to quickly put them away at the end of the day. Not only that, but the new stands will be light weight and much easier to handle. It also gives the guitar students a feeling of ownership in the music programs. Thank you Nebo Foundation for seeing our need and helping us meet it. We are so excited to get the new stands.”

Larsen Elementary–Patti Bates“I received a grant through the Nebo Foundation and have purchased a high quality, early literature series to get students excited about reading. This series of book builders has been highly recommended. It will allow developing readers to connect with and study the characters Bella and Rosie during the many levels first graders are expect to transition through. I plan to use the class pack during guided reading to reinforce higher level thinking skills for readers. The Bella and Rosie Collection will be available in my classroom library for individual readers to read and write book reviews. The book reviews will encourage their classmates to read books from the series. A big thank you from Mrs. Bates' First Grade Class,” said Patti Bates, first-grade teacher at Larsen Elementary.

Larsen Elementary–June WilliamsonJune Williamson, teacher at Larsen Elementary said, “I am so excited to receive this technology grant from the Nebo Foundation. I was approved for three Chromebooks from my LEA, so then I thought, 'Why not maximize this opportunity?" With the Foundation's help, I can now help even more students! Thank you again you wonderful people!”

Wilson Elementary–Karen Burt“I was so grateful to get this grant for my classroom! I have taught 2nd grade for the past 8 years and just moved to 4th grade this year. Because of this I have very few upper grade chapter books that my students can enjoy. Most of the books that are in my new classroom are so old that they are falling apart or in need of repair. This grant money will help greatly because I will be able to purchase some much needed replacement books as well as some new chapter books for my upper level readers. I am excited to start purchasing these books and my students are excited as well,” stated Karen Burt, fourth-grade teacher at Wilson Elementary.

Brockbank Elementary–Robin Martin & Byron VillaverdeRobin Martin said, “We are so excited for the matching funds we received. With the Nebo Foundation Grant, we were able to buy materials for the speech and language therapy program. These materials will be used for years! Our need for educational materials was greater than our budget allowed us to buy. With your help, we were able to buy exactly what we needed. None of our students will go without because of the Grant we received.”

Barnett Elementary–Lisa Leach-Peterson“Our sixth grade team is really excited about implementing this Teachers College Reading and Writing Project by Lucy Calkins, and know that it will benefit many students at Barnett Elementary for years to come. In addition, our sixth grade teams’ SLO (student learning objective) this year is focused on writing and improving our SAGE testing scores in this area. This writing program will help us to determine student growth performance, and will empower us with the flexibility to establish rigorous, realistic expectations for student learning. Thank you Nebo Education Foundation for helping us be better teachers for our amazing students! stated Lisa Leach-Peterson, sixth-grade teacher at Barnett Elementary.

Larsen Elementary–Paula CarterPaula Carter, second-grade teacher at Larsen Elementary, said, “I am so excited to be able to add more non-fiction books to our classroom library! Our class just finished writing chapter books about animals. They were so excited about what they found out in their research about animals and are eager to take on another task using non-fiction books. My students are ready to expand their writing experiences with science non-fiction books. I greatly appreciate the generous donation that the Nebo Foundation has given to enrich my students and their learning. Since my principal, Garrett Andersen matched the Nebo Foundation donation, my class library will receive twice as many books. I feel that this donation is the key to opening up many imaginations and creative writers! Thank you so much!!!”